Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1890–1969)

IN THE 1952 presidential election, both the Democratic and Republican parties courted General Dwight Eisenhower who had led the Allied forces to victory in World War II, and who had served as commander of NATO forces from 1948 to 1951. Eisenhower was not a partisan by any means. Before 1952, he had never voted in a single election. One of Eisenhower's most lasting legacies was the appointment of Earl Warren (1891–1974) as chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1953.

The Warren Court became one of the most liberal courts in the history of the United States, handing down major decisions that changed the fabric of life in America. For instance, Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954) began the move toward desegregation of ...